Good morning!! My name is Amanda, I am 23, and I am DONE with feeling sorry for myself. I am DONE eating because I am depressed about how gross I look/feel. I am DONE making excuses for myself as to why I can't eat healthier and/or exercise. I am DONE hiding behind this body that I don't belong in.

I am hoping this is it. I have said and done this many times, and just given up because it was too hard or I had too much on my plate. I am a full time teacher and full time student working toward my degree in Human Services/Social Work. I work from 7:30 AM to 5 PM, and have school every week day at 5:30-8:30 PM, so finding time to exercise has always been an issue. By the time I get home, I am exhausted. Eating healthy has been a challenge as well...mainly because we are not allowed to eat when the kids aren't eating, and it's near impossible to sit down and eat anything when supervising 15 three year olds during lunch.

Instead of stressing myself out with huge INTIMIDATING goals, I have been trying to set smaller goals. For example, when I am outside with the kids I am trying not to sit down and run around and play active games with them instead. We take the stairs instead of the elevator. I have incorporated yoga into our morning circle routine. Now that the autumn weather is making things cooler, I plan on hiking every Sunday again.

The food thing is always the hardest part for me. I eat dinner when I get home from class around 8:45/9 PM, and most times I definitely do not feel like cooking anything and wind up microwaving something unhealthy or grabbing something to eat on the way home. It's hard to graze during the day because I am constantly busy. I'm going to have to formulate a routine and stick to it. I am thinking of preparing something on the weekend that I can take to work for most of the week, but I tend to get sick of things after eating them for a day or two.

Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself. I am hoping I can stick with this, and hopefully having support will help in this journey. Good luck to all of you!!

Hello and welcome! I'm new to the site too, so I thought I would go around and welcome a few other new people today. You do have a very busy schedule, but it sounds like you have some good ideas to fit things in. It always amazes me the way some people can do so much! It's neat that you are including your class in some of your exercise efforts too. Good luck with your weight loss!